Objective To explore clinical application value of preserving left colon artery (LCA) by low resection in laparoscopic radical resection of rectal cancer (Dixon) in patients with rectal cancer.Methods Clinical data of 98 rectal cancer patients who underwent radical resection from January 2017 to January 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. According to presence or absence of intraoperative LCA preserving, they were divided into observation group (n = 53) and control group (n = 45). The observation group was treated with low ligation of inferior mesenteric artery (IMA) to preserve LCA, while control group was treated with high ligation of IMA to not preserve LCA. The occurrence, recurrence and metastasis of intraoperative and postoperative complications were compared between the two groups.Results The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative exhaust time, total number of lymph node dissection, number of positive lymph nodes, number of lymph node dissection and preventive ileostomy were no significance between the two groups (P > 0.05). The hospitalization time in observation group [(10.38 ± 1.26) d] was shorter than that in control group [(11.06 ± 1.31) d)] (P < 0.05). The incidence of postoperative complications in observation group was 5.66%, lower than 31.11% in the control group (P < 0.05). The postoperative recurrence rate, metastasis rate or cumulative survival rate were no significance between the two groups (P > 0.05).Conclusion The lymph node dissection effect of both laparoscopic Dixon with LCA preservation and high resection is comparable. Besides, the former can reduce the incidence of anastomotic leakage and shorten hospitalization time of patients.